I cleaned a 5/16"-24 Thread Chaser to clean the threads for CF Flanges, specifically the threads for the top flange on the Laser Filter Cavity (LFC) Input Vacuum Cube. Because the thread chaser is made of carbon steel, I cleaned it in a 10 minute acetone bath/sonication and a 10 minute isopropanol bath/sonication. I first had to reclean the acetone container with DI water/simple Green and DI water because there was residual grease/gunk in the container from cleaning the locking pliers.

I used the thread chaser on one of the screw holes with the flanges still attached, and it seemed to allow the screw to go in deeper (I didn't do a rigorous measurment, partially because it's a bit ad hoc when to stop tightening the screw). The diameter of the threader chaser by the hex head is too large to fit through a 10" CF Flange (0.96" thick) and thread 0.75" deep into the vacuum cube. To get around this issue, I used the lathe to machine down the tip of the thread chaser to hypothetically fit into a 1.58" long, 0.312" diamter (< 5/16") cylinder so that it can be inserted all the way down the threaded holes. I can use the counterbored holes (0.25" deep) on the 10" flange from the holometer to get the remaining depth needed (1.83" measured). There is still ~0.3" left on top of the thread chaser to use so that a socket can be used. The narrowest part of the thread chaser is ~1/4" thick and ~1" long, so I don't think I meaningfully weaken it (famous last words). Nevertheless, one should be gentile with it.

Tomorrow, I plan on cleaning the 7/16" socket and re-cleaning the thread chaser to see if I can fully clean up the threads.